‘Zionist’ lists, tourist maps: Italy's Jews warn of widening threat of antisemitism

Italian Jewish leaders warn of rising antisemitism and antizionism, citing a Liberation Day incident where Jewish participants were forced out of a march, and an anonymous Google form targeting Israeli tourists and Jewish businesses. A PhD candidate describes being targeted after being labeled a 'Zionist' and 'soldier without a uniform.'

Italian Jewish leaders are warning of a widening threat of antisemitism and antizionism, citing a series of incidents. At Milan's April 25 Liberation Day march, Jewish Brigade participants were surrounded by demonstrators, shouted at, and forced out of the procession under police escort. Dalia Gubbay, vice president of the Jewish Community of Milan, said she was called a murderer and felt betrayed by her city. Less than three months later, an anonymous Google form circulated asking the public to report Israeli tourists, Jewish visitors, hotels, and businesses, described as 'Zionist tourism' and 'Zionist neo-colonization.' The form was removed after Gen. Pasquale Angelosanto, Italy's national coordinator for the fight against antisemitism, intervened. The form followed a 2024 online document by the Nuovo Partito Comunista Italiano that named Jewish community figures as part of a 'Zionist bloc.' Benjamin Birely, a PhD candidate at L'Orientale University, was targeted by a pro-Palestinian activist who called him a 'soldier without a uniform' and by a student group that called him a 'PhD candidate in genocide.' Birely denies any military role and says he faces hostility simply for being an Israeli Jew.